The government on Tuesday approved 20 additional battalions comprising about 20,000 personnel for the Sashastra Seema Bal.

The decision to increase the strength of the 25,000-personnel SSB was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

SSB, which was given the task of guarding the 1,751-km Indo-Nepal and 661-km Indo-Bhutan borders just two years ago, had made a request for an additional 20 battalions for effective patrolling.

Two days ago, Home Minister Shivraj Patil had said the budgetary outlay for the force had been increased by over 47 per cent this fiscal.

Influx of Nepalese Maoists into India has gone up sharply since the royal takeover in the Himalayan kingdom on February one. The activity of Pakistani agents in border areas has also increased, SSB officials said.